The grief therapist also has to identify the grieving style of the bereaved individual. There are two types of grieving styles a client can display intuitive and instrumental. Intuitive grievers communicate their feelings and want to share their grief experience with others (Winokuer & Harris, 2012, p. 88). In contrast, Instrumental grievers portray their grief cognitively and behaviorally via thoughts, self-reflection, and actions (Winokuer & Harris, 2012, p. 88). In Knowing the type of grief style the client shows can help the therapist decide what task or activities a client would benefit from. For instance, instrumental grievers may benefit from exercises such as journaling or writing letters to and from the deceased (narrative therapy). …show more content…
On the other hand, intuitive grievers can benefit from psychotherapy and rituals such as linking objects or talking about the deceased in a photograph. Clients can achieve their therapeutic goals because the therapist chooses activities that suit their grief style. The importance of self-care plays a large role grief therapy.
Winokuer and Harris (2012) state self-awareness and self-care are professional competencies that counsellors must cultivate and perform regularly. Counsellor’s can use techniques such as grounding, being kind to oneself, and self check-ins daily to prevent burnout or harm to clients. Grounding was a technique I learnt during residency. The therapist can sit on a chair with his/her feet placed flat on the floor. The purpose of grounding was to allow the emotions flow through your body without any blockages. Blockages are spots inside the body where a person may feel a build up of emotions. These blockages may present itself as tension in the body such as a frog in the throat, tightness in the chest, or a knot in the stomach (Stella, 2015). For example, therapists can use sound therapy such as vowel tones and our breath to move the blockages in our body (chakras). The vibrations from the vowels expel the blockages out from our body (Kopel, 2011). According to Kopel (2011) each vowel opens up specific areas in the body. For instance, the vowel U opens up the pelvis, hips, legs, feet, and lower body. O clears the lower trunk, abdomen and groin area. A clears the chest cavity, heart, and the whole body. Finally, E frees the throat, upper chest, and entire head. This exercise demonstrates how using the sound therapy can remove blockages within the body and ground the
therapist.
I have had the privilege to walk alongside many people on their grief journeys. Throughout my thirty years of assisting others, I have developed a model of grief processing I call the Berafian Model. This model allows me an opportunity to work with various ages as well as cultural backgrounds.
The most mysterious and unusual for of death, that is intended to end the life of a person with his suffering leading to inestimable amount of suffering for the people around the deceased. People say that death is the last state of life and ending the last state of life though an uncommon end is a bit odd. In 1996 in the Los Angeles Roxanna Roberts wrote “The Grieving Never Ends” and has expressed that how much people around the deceased had to suffer after the suicide. The word “Suicide” is a selfish act committed by people that are blinded by their own suffering and don’t realize the pain they will bring to others around them. Ending the life in such a manner will not only disturb peace in one self but also bring destruction on others in
Upon receiving the news that a loved one had died, those left to mourn, called survivors, often find themselves entangled in a complex web of emotions and reactions. The death of a loved one can be a frightening, overwhelming, and painful experience and the physical, psychological, and social effects of loss are articulated through the practice of grief. Grief has been known to be experienced in five stages called the Five Stages of Grief where each phase of the grieving process will go from initial denial to the slow healing of acceptance. However, the devastating aftermath of a loss of a loved one, coupled with the suffering experienced through the five stages of grief can cause the survivor to commit suicide themselves.
Grief is a multi-faceted response to loss. Although primarily focused on the emotional reaction to loss, it also carries a physical, cognitive, behavioral, social, and philosophical connotation. Doctor Elisabeth Kübler-Ross introduced the idea of the stages of grief in her 1969 book, On Death and Dying. Although it has received much criticism since then, the Kübler-Ross model remains to be the most widely accepted model of grief today. However, as most psychological research conducted in the 20th century was based on people living in the North America and Western Europe, the Kübler-Ross model could be culturally biased.
Counselors who are ill prepared to address the unique needs of bereaved clients can cause undue harm. Though I have years of experience as a substance abuse and mental health counselor and I have worked with clients on issues related to grief, I acknowledge my lack of competence in respects to therapeutic grief counseling knowledge and skills. To portray myself as a grief counselor and deliver ineffective services to clients, I can cause harm to those seeking help. ACA Code of Ethics ethical standard C.2.a. addresses the boundaries of competence and encourages counselors to “practice only within the boundaries of their competence, based on their education, training, supervised experience, state and national professional credentials, and appropriate professional experience” (ACA, 2014, p. 8). Taking courses such as this can expand my knowledge of the foundations, theories, and specific techniques related to grief counseling. Additionally, seeking consultation and/or supervision from individuals with more experience in grief counseling can serve as a sounding board as well as help me reflect on my own values related to grief and bereavement. Collectively, these strategies could improve my ability to work with
Breavement is handeled differently in different generations. Weather it is a kid that has a terminal illness or an elderly person who is diagnosed with a terminal illness, each breave differently. Breavement deals with not just someone clsoe dying but, someone themselvs who is diagnosed with a life threatening illness.
People use different methods to cope with the passing of a loved one that could either
Grieving is the outward expression of your loss. Every individual grief is likely to be expressed physically, emotionally, and psychologically. For instance, crying is a physical expression, while depression is a psychological expression. It is very important to allow the client to express these feelings. Often, death is a subject that is avoided, ignored or denied. At first it may be helpful
In 1969 Elisabeth Kübler-Ross, a psychiatrist, published the Pioneering book On Death and Dying. The work acquainted the world with the grieving process, called the five stages of grief. Kübler-Ross gathered her research from studying individuals with terminal cancer (Johnson, 2007). The first stage of the grieving process is denial. In this stage the person refuses to believe that their loved one is deceased, a common thought during this period is, “This can’t be happening to me” (Johnson, 2007).The second stage of the grieving process is anger. In this level the person becomes frustrated with their circumstances, a customary complaint is “Why is this happening to me?” (Johnson, 2007). The third stage of the grieving process is bargaining. At this point the individual hopes that they can prevent their grief, this typically involves bartering with a higher power, and an ordinary observance during this time is “I will do anything to have them back” (Johnson, 2007). The fourth and most identifiable stage of grief is depression. This phase is habitually the lengthiest as...
Individually, everyone has their own methods of dealing with situations and emotions regardless of any positive or negative connotation affixed to them. One prime example of this comes with grief. Elisabeth Kubler-Ross in her 1969 book “On Death and Dying” suggests that there are five stages of mourning and grief that are universal and, at one point or another, experienced by people from all walks of life. These stages, in no particular order, are as follows: Denial and Isolation, Anger, Bargaining, Depression, and finally Acceptance. Each individual person works through these stages in different orders for varying levels of time and intensity, but most if not all are necessary to “move on.” In order for positive change to occur following a loss, one must come to terms with not only the event but also themselves.
“Bereavement is not a one-dimensional experience. It’s not the same for everyone and there do not appear to be...
Leming, M., & Dickinson, G. (2011). Understanding dying, death, & bereavement. (7th ed., pp. 471-4). Belmont, California: Wadsworth.
The characters in Alice Sebold’s The Lovely Bones are faced with the difficult task of overcoming the loss of Susie, their daughter and sister. Jack, Abigail, Buckley, and Lindsey each deal with the loss differently. However, it is Susie who has the most difficulty accepting the loss of her own life. Several psychologists separate the grieving process into two main categories: intuitive and instrumental grievers. Intuitive grievers communicate their emotional distress and “experience, express, and adapt to grief on a very affective level” (Doka, par. 27). Instrumental grievers focus their attention towards an activity, whether it is into work or into a hobby, usually relating to the loss (Doka par. 28). Although each character deals with their grief differently, there is one common denominator: the reaction of one affects all.
Death is part of the circle of life and it's the end of your time on earth; the end of your time with your family and loved ones. Nobody wants to die, leaving their family and missing the good times your loved ones will have once you pass on. In the Mercury Reader, Elisabeth Kübler-Ross “On the Fear of Death” and Joan Didion “Afterlife” from The Year of Magical Thinking” both share common theses on death and grieving. Didion and Kübler-Ross both explain grieving and dealing with death. Steve Jobs commencement speech for Stanford’s graduation ceremony and through personal experience jumps further into death and how I feel about it. Your time is on earth is limited one day you will die and there are many ways of grieving at the death of a loved one. I believe that the fear of death and the death of a loved one will hold you back from living your own life and the fear of your own death is selfish.
Funeral Blues by W. H. Auden is a short poem that illustrates the emotions that he is dealing with after the love of his life passes away. The tone of this piece evokes feelings that will differ depending on the reader; therefore, the meaning of this poem is not in any way one-dimensional, resulting in inevitable ambiguity . In order to evoke emotion from his audience, Auden uses a series of different poetic devices to express the sadness and despair of losing a loved one. This poem isn’t necessarily about finding meaning or coming to some overwhelming realization, but rather about feeling emotions and understanding the pain that the speaker is experiencing. Through the use of poetic devices such as an elegy, hyperboles, imagery, metaphors, and alliterations as well as end-rhyme, Auden has created a powerful poem that accurately depicts the emotions a person will often feel when the love of their live has passed away.